Monthly Archives: December 2009

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This video from the USA is called “Financial Crisis: The Musical”, Lyrics: B. Hopman, Vocals: R. Hopman.

The US Treasury announced Thursday that it will remove a cap on federal support to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, extending to the firms an unlimited amount of funds for three years: here.

Despite last-minute talks with Dutch sports car maker Spyker on a potential sale, General Motors has confirmed that it will push ahead with its plans to wind down operations at Saab: here.

On December 22, the greeting card and party goods maker American Greetings said it would close its Kalamazoo, Michigan, plant by April, resulting in 225 layoffs: here.

Somali women voice their anger and opposition to the Ethiopian Invasion of their country in Baraanbur, a very stylish, rich and unique poetry. They also raised money for the Mogadishu Massacre victims.

Somalia: Hundreds of IDPs Demonstrate Out of Mogadishu, Complain Water Shortage

Hassan Osman Abdi

29 December 2009

Afgoi — Large demonstrations organized by the Somali Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and against the water shortage has been made between Mogadishu and Afgoi town in Lower Shabelle region, witnesses and officials said on Tuesday.

Most of the people were the Somali displaced people and were marching a long Afgoi corridor especially between the Lafole and Hawo Abdi villages, out of the Somali capital.

Hundreds of the of the displaced people, most of them from Mogadishu could be seen in the large demonstrations happened today and they were complaining about a bitter water shortage that faced all the Internally Displaced Peoples in the area.

MSF agency, one of the charity organizations operating between both towns Mogadishu and Afgoi and used to contribute water to the displaced people had formally informed them recently that it totally halted providing water to those people from 1st January 2010.

The agency said in a statement recently that it will not give any water to the IDPs.

Hundreds of the demonstrators had gathered at a square, out of Hawo Abdi village where the demonstrations continued complaining about the lack of water facing the displaced people in the area by reiterating their call about MSF to continue providing water to the feeble people.

The demonstrators lastly requested from the charity agency of MSF to let them giving the water which the people are complaining about pointing out that they are currently encountering serious difficulties of water shortage.

Any how the large demonstrations of the Somali Internally displaced comes as most of the displaced people who left from the Somali capital Mogadishu due to daily clashes did not get any aid support about 3 months in this year 2009.

David Levine, a painter and illustrator whose macro-headed, somberly expressive, astringently probing and hardly ever flattering caricatures of intellectuals and athletes, politicians and potentates were the visual trademark of The New York Review of Books for nearly half a century, died Tuesday morning in Manhattan. He was 83 and lived in Brooklyn.

Félix Nadar, a famous French photographer and caricaturist, died on March 21, 1910, at the age of 89: here.

The creatures are smaller than one centimeter. The last time that seahorses were born in the Arsenal was a few years ago. They also never have been born so late in the year.

In seahorses, the males get pregnant. The babies grow for four weeks in the pouch of their father. Then they are no longer cared for, and they have to find their own food. They eat plankton only. After two months, they are five centimter long, they will start eating solid food and will be allowed back into the aquarium with their parents.

This video says about itself:

There’s something about sea horses

A glimpse of the latest exhibit at Birch Aquarium, La Jolla, California by Steve Perez

Marine Biologists Work To Protect Seahorses By Developing A Breeding Program: here.

Those cute little buggers might help me one day – scientists look to seahorses to find blindness answers: here.

The Saturday air strike in Kunar drew condemnation from the lawmakers on Monday who walked out of the session and later a parliamentary delegation met President Hamid Karzai to show their resentment. Karzai ordered a serious probe into the attack that killed ten people including eight school children in Badeel area in Narang district.

In the last night air raid, the dead included a father and his three sons, who were killed while running to escape the bombardment, a teacher at the Jamiat Aburjaee High School in the area, Karim Safi, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

A student of the school, Karim Javed, said that the air raid also left many people wounded including a student of his school.

Head of the district hospital, Abdul Qahir Qanit, said they had received eight injured people delivered to the hospital with a woman and a child in a critical condition.

…

The war in Afghanistan is becoming deadlier, killing 10 percent more civilians during the first 10 months of 2009 compared to the previous period last year, according to UN figures.

UNAMA said that 468 deaths were caused by pro-government forces, including NATO and US-led forces, and 166 by “other actors”.

US Military is Meeting Recruitment Goals With Video Games – But at What Cost? Here.

Afghan soldier opens fire at military base in Afghanistan, killing one American and injuring two Italian troops: here.

Scottish Socialist Party national spokesman Colin Fox has condemned “silent” MSPs who have ignored a letter from grieving grandmother Joan Humphreys asking them to support the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan: here.

Birds from Asia and US among highest number of species spotted in a single year

By Lewis Smith

Tuesday, 29 December 2009

Twitchers look set to break the record for the most species sighted by British birdwatchers in a year.

Figures released today show that in 2008, 407 different species are confirmed. Up to 11 more are likely to be added to the list. The total of 418 bird species recorded in Britain in a year beats the previous high of 412 in 2004. Many of the winged visitors sighted, some for just a few minutes, included exotic visitors from across the globe.